Class Diversity Appeals to New Student

The University of Hawai’i’s John A. Burns School of Medicine is arguably the most culturally and racially diverse medical school in the country. When the President of the Association of American Medical Colleges came to visit (and speak at the MD Convocation) last May, he told Dean Jerris Hedges he never realized just how diverse our student body is until he saw them for himself.

The newest MD Class, the Class of 2015, is an exciting mix of students, according to Medical Student 1 (MS-1) Kori Matsuura, pictured. “It’s exciting to meet so many new people, from so many diverse backgrounds,” she said. “Not only diverse backgrounds from within Hawai’i, but we also have a student from Japan and a student from Beijing, China in our class.” Matsuura is a Wahiawa resident who graduated from Moanalua High School and Mount Holyoke College. Of our 58 “resident” students, 16, like Matsuura, are public school graduates. 37 went to private school or were home schooled.

The average age of the members of the Class of 2015 is 24, and more of them are men. Males make up 52% of the class. The neighbor islands are represented–especially the Valley Isle. Six of the class members come from Maui, with two from Moloka’i and one from Hawai’i Island.

On O’ahu, five call Mililani home, four live in Kane’ohe, three reside in Aiea, two are from Wahiawa, two from Kailua, one lives in Wai’anae and one is from Saipan. The rest are Honolulu “townies” or among the eight “non-resident” class members who hail from Canada, California, Texas, Washington, New Jersey and, as mentioned, Tokorozawa, Japan and Beijing, China.

The 66 students of the class were chosen from among 1,653 applicants. We are glad they are now part of the JABSOM ‘Ohana!